Remember a few years ago when DadBod was the new hot thing? Having a little extra cushion and some slouchy love handles - maybe even a hint of a beer gut - was the bee's knees! The 2019 version of DadBod is Babywearing BabyDaddy. YES. You read that correctly. Real men wear their babies and they look super hot while they do it. Case in point:

But beyond raw sexual heat, babywearing is something only the realest of men can pull off. It takes a whole heck of a lot of self-assurance, a nurturing spirit, and a healthy dose of equality for a man to strap a baby onto their back (or front). But man, oh man! When they do it, they do it so well.

Real Men Are Good Fathers

Fatherhood is not some sort of contest to see who can be the coldest and most detached from their children. Well, maybe it used to be - but it isn't nowadays! Listen, mothers carry their children for 40 weeks (more or less) - there really is an innate bond that all that physical contact produces. Humans are wired to see babies as cute and cuddly because babies literally need human touch to survive. Men who understand the basics of early childhood development know that physical touch is the easiest way to bond with their baby. No newborn is going to want to toss the football in the backyard. But instead of letting that stop them, real men take the baby with them in a soft ring sling to the neighbor's Super Bowl party.

Men who want to excel at fatherhood leave no stone unturned. Whatever they can do to be there for their kid, they will do. They may not be used to carrying little people around with them, or they might be afraid they'll drop them. But wearing your baby like a kangaroo skin-to-skin warms the heart. Bonding and nurturing their baby is what makes good men great fathers. 

Real Men Are Good Partners

I repeat: mothers have already carried their babies for 40 weeks (give or take) by the time they're born. It should surprise no one that we could use a break after all that hard work! And yes, cuddling a sweet newborn can be absolute bliss - or it can be hellacious. When your partner is touched out and needs a break, WEAR THE BABY. Yes, wear them. I know you can't always stop what you're doing, but that's what makes babywearing so great. No more excuses about how you "can't take the baby". Yes, you can! Look, ma! No hands!

Because good men care about what their partner is going through. In whatever way they can, they strive to pull their weight in the partnership that is parenthood. Real men are good co-parents because they don't expect their partner to be the only one who has to "deal with the baby". Not just because they want to get as much of those oxytocin-cuddles as they can; but because they want their partner to have whatever will help them be the best person then can be. And sometimes, that thing they need? It's a partner willing to carry the baby through an amusement park. Or a nature walk. Or the mall.

Real Men Are Good People

Real men are decent human beings. Yes, I said it. Questionable human being Piers Morgan recently tweeted that babywearing is "emasculating".

Need I say more?

Don't worry, I will. Here's the thing. When you see someone struggling to carry a heavy load, the kind thing to do is to offer your help. This holds true for physical loads (like a squirming baby) or figurative burdens (like postpartum depression and anxiety). Dads who wear their babies have loads of reasons why. But through all of them runs a unifying thread: they care. They care about their babies, they care about their partners, and they care about their contribution as fathers.

I don't even buy into the whole "real men" thing myself - people are people regardless of their genitals. But I worded this article this way specifically to clap back at Piers Morgan. I'll hand it to him: you gotta be pretty darn small-minded to put your own heternormative fragile masculinity before the needs of your partner. If his masculinity is so flimsy that a linen ring sling can dismantle it, then he's just not a real man. Sorry not sorry, Piers.

Does your partner wear your baby? Send me pics! @pi3sugarpi3 on Twitter with #RealMenWearBabies.